“Fantasy Scenarios”
Debate about electricity restrictions is irrelevant
03/11/2023 11:33 am
In the future there will be many more heat pumps and electric cars. However, this also means that much more electricity is required. The solution proposed by the Federal Network Agency for supply stability triggers a debate. “Nobody has to be afraid,” emphasizes the head of the Federal Network Agency.
From the point of view of the head of the network operator Netze BW, the discussion about possible current restrictions when electric cars and heat pumps are ramped up is partly “unobjective” and “misleading”. Government officials have already presented scenarios in which someone has no electricity for hot food, can no longer charge their electric car and, in an emergency, can no longer visit their relatives in the hospital, said Christoph Müller of the German Press Agency in Stuttgart.
“We network operators find it difficult to deal with these fantasy scenarios.” In doing so, false and sometimes grotesque fears would be reflected out of ignorance. Ultimately, the so-called “network-oriented control” is about preventing short-term network overloads and power failures. At the same time, the expansion of the networks will continue. It is about the case that the number of wall boxes for charging cars increases faster than the necessary grid expansion progresses.
Associations warn of restrictions for consumers
The background to this is a proposal by the Federal Network Agency that network operators should be given the opportunity to temporarily restrict electricity purchases from private charging stations and heat pumps in order to avoid high peak loads. In return, the affected consumers should receive a reduction in their network charges.
An alliance of associations, including the Association of the Automotive Industry and the Federal Association of Consumer Organizations, had warned that network operators could throttle devices unilaterally and indefinitely in the event of an imminent network overload. This would entail significant restrictions for consumers. The head of the Federal Network Agency, Klaus Müller, recently said: “No one needs to be afraid.” Every electric car is charged according to the recommendations of the Federal Network Agency – “perhaps not quite as quickly as everyone would like”.
A single household at a local network station with maybe 200 households is secured with around two kilowatts, explained Netze BW boss Christoph Müller. This corresponds to the power requirement of a kettle and is sufficient because not all 200 households boil water, blow-dry their hair or vacuum at the same time. However, the ramp-up of e-mobility is a structural break: wall boxes for electric cars draw significantly more power with eleven kilowatts and more.